Computer newbies forum: Quad Core vs. Dual Core, photo editing

The more cores, the better. HOWEVER, any pgm. or app. has to be able to take advantage of this in order to benefit. Though, overall it will perform better but most s/w should provide that it likes multiple cores if at all. Since, quad core is more up to date as well, you'll benefit from whatever else the mtrbd. has to offer. If you're going to be buying a "pre-build PC" then look at the specs and faster isn't necessarily the better because here the multiple core simply works through it all no matter what the speed. I suggest if you buy, that you get a PC that's already at the upper end of it capabilities, like ram and i5 or i7. In fact, rather than looking at a hot PC, look at what a "workstation" may deliver as its more stable and robust overall, see the differences and then decide. You can also look at what the s/w requires and build above the requirements to better the outcome. Check also into the "cpu range of installs" as a future replacement may provide yet more life out of the system than when it was 1st build.

tada -----Willy

Hi, what you describe is quite a heavy workload, so I'd be looking for a powerful computer to match. I believe CS6 makes pretty effective use of all the cores you can throw at it.

So I'd be looking at an Intel third generation Core i7 Quad processor, as powerful as your budget will allow. The third generation chips are also extremely energy efficient, typically only one third to one half of the second generation Cores.

Max out your RAM - it's relatively cheap these days and for any form of image editing, more is better.

Go for a separate graphics card from AMD Radeon or Nvidia with dedicated storage (I can't keep up with their model numbers, you should check the reviews). Dedicated DDR5 VRAM is way more effective than shared DDR3 main RAM.

Disk storage is up to you - "hundreds of Hi Res images" says that you will be using conventional spinning disks for data storage, though you might want to consider a smallish SSD for OS and software use.

My take, your mileage may vary.

Make sure you get a power supply big enough to handle all the hardware on the computer.